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A seamless cube-shaped box encloses the aptly-named “Glass Box,” a 10-disc retrospective of compositions from Philip Glass’s groundbreaking career. Each side of the cube portrays images of the composer as rendered by the artists Chuck Close, Annie Leibovitz, Robert Mapplethorpe, Francesco Clemente and Robert Wilson. Inside this boxed set are 10 discs (individually packaged in digipaks with cover artworks selected by Chuck Close) and a 192-page booklet containing extensive liner notes, archival photos, performance credits, librettos, and appreciations. Our design for the “Glass Box” utilizes the box form as a primary motif that is deployed consistently, repetitively and obsessively throughout the entire package, in effect paralleling the composer’s own distinctive aesthetic.

Design: Peter Buchanan-Smith, Josef Reyes

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“Portraits of Glass” booklet, Philip Glass

Philip Glass approached us to find ways to promote a flurry of new activity, performances, and recordings. For that we came up with the idea of a small book that would tell his story through five of the most iconic portraits of Glass, portraits by Chuck Close, Robert Mapplethorpe, Annie Leibowitz, and Francesco Clemente. Printed on the cover of the book is a matrix of letters, and on a vinyl sleeve that, when removed, sends the type into motion.